Performance
The performance of the Desmo’s really can be broken up into two parts. They advertise the glasses to increase contrast, enhance detail, reduce glare, improve visual endurance, and decrease eye fatigue and dry eyes. So the first half of the performance is how well do the glasses live up to what they claim and the second half is how comfortable are they to wear both in and out of game. Let’s break it down.
Do they help?
Almost instantly after putting the glasses on after a full day of staring at a monitor I feel a slight relief on my eyes. I didn’t realize how much I was squinting and straining until after I stopped with the glasses on. If I notice a difference right out of the box long turn relief isn’t a problem at all. But SteelSeries also advertised that they would increase contrast and detail, does that happen? Well if your idea of increasing contrast is more yellow they do it without a question. In my opinion they don’t really help with increasing contrast, but truthfully I don’t think increased contrast in game is something I need. The last attribute promised is reduced glare, how do they perform? They did a good job of preventing glare on the glasses themselves, but glare on other objects in the room were un effected. This wasn’t too big of a deal for me now, but years ago with CRT’s it would have been.
Comfort
For anything that you are going to wear for extended periods of time like you will the Desmo, it’s very important that they be very comfortable. This is sometimes a problem when you have a headset on, they tend to push on glasses if they are too thick. SteelSeries and Gunner worked together to make the temples as thin as possible. They still did coat them in a plastic so you don’t have the metal digging into you. I would have liked to see this be coated in something a little more flexible, but it wasn’t noticeable at all while wearing them. Considering my fat head I have been impressed that the Desmo’s never felt too tight or small. With my headphones on I didn’t feel any extra pressure with the Desmo’s on, something that I was worried about going in.